Spotlight on Palmerston North’s next planned suburb
The company proposes a staged development, including up to 130 homes that could be worth $90 million to $135m.
Gaining approval for Palmerston North’s next housing suburb to go ahead at the former Massey University Hokowhitu campus could hinge on treading lightly on memories.
A commissioners’ hearing on the proposed rezoning of the site from institutional to residential starts in the city on Wednesday.
The 10-hectare property was sold to Wallace Development Ltd in 2016.
The company proposes a staged development, including up to 130 homes that could be worth $90 million to $135m.
The analysis so far suggests managing the border with the Manawatu Golf Club and dealing sensitively with the area’s wealth of memories, both Ma¯ ori and European, will be critical.
City council policy planner Michael Duindam will say in his janine.rankin@fairfaxmedia.co.nz
presentation that reverse sensitivity – the problem that happens when new neighbours move in and then complain about the activities already established in the area – is a major concern for the Manawatu¯ Golf Club.
He has come up with a range of controls that could help, from limits on early morning mowing of the course, to building controls to buffer homes from noise and any errant golf balls.
The council has also been challenged to make sure culturally significant sites are protected from development, particularly the site of the former Ruahine whare.
Most of the cultural concerns had already been discussed and were focused on having a visible feature link showing how the lagoon used to link to the Manawatu¯ River.
Another major concern to be worked out will be the future of the Memorial Grove.
Near the old tennis courts, at the foot of the stopbanks, is a collection of trees planted since the 1970s as memorials to former Manawatu¯ Teachers’ College staff and students who had died.
The proposal is to retain the grove as part of the Ruahine Whare Reserve.
But one special tree stands outside the area.
It was planted by the Manawatu¯ Cancer Society as a commemoration of its annual Relay for Life, which is held on the nearby athletics grounds.
The plan change has drawn comment from people living in the general area about whether the surrounding streets will be able to cope with the extra volumes of traffic generated by the housing development.
But at this stage, it looks like those submitters will have an uphill battle to convince the commissioners that this will be a problem.
There have also been those who bemoan losing the open space aspect of the site, but the counterargument is that an up-market housing development could be more attractive than the concentration of grey tarseal and concrete buildings that dominates at the moment.
The Caccia Birch Trust Board is looking forward to the prospect of its location on the edge of the Hokowhitu Lagoon becoming more prominent and enjoying a higher profile.
But the view of the homestead will draw attention to the rather shabby state of its lagoon embankment.
After a recent review of the trust board’s annual report, the city council has called for a report on options for enhancement, but that is another matter.
The proposed plan change will be heard by independent commissioners Chris Mitchell and Reg Proffit, with city councillor commissioners Tangi Utikere and Lorna Johnson completing the panel.
End note:
Just because it is that time of year, as we start counting down to the end of it, a flick through the files about what was happening in Palmerston North last November triggered a few memories.
Some of the headlines might make you wonder, was it really that long ago? For others, it might feel like it was just yesterday. Here’s some highlights:
The city council finally released a report into the Easter 2014 collapse of the Ghost Tower sculpture near the i-site, revealing council staff knew it was not properly bolted together.
The huia feathers sculpture in The Square diagonally opposite The Plaza entrance was unveiled.
A programme of $500,000 worth of works was designed to ensure the city’s drinking water stayed safe after 5000 people got sick from drinking Havelock North’s water.
Submissions opened on the proposed He Ara Kotahi cycle and pedestrian bridge over the Manawatu¯ River at Dittmer Drive. Resource consents were granted, but the contract to start building has not yet been finalised.
And in the first week of December, former city council chief executive Paddy Clifford announced he was retiring, an event rather eclipsed by former Prime Minister John Key announcing he was quitting politics on the same day.